Mapping Trends in Naturalizations: 1980 to 2003 · MI IN NC PA NY MS TN KY VA OH SC ME WV VT NH MD...
6
Mapping Trends in Naturalizations: 1980 to 2003 John Simanski March 2006 Every year hundreds of thousands of legal permanent residents (LPRs) become naturalized citizens. To obtain citizenship, LPRs must fulfill certain age, residence, and admissions requirements. Once natu- ralized, they have nearly all of the same privileges, rights, and responsibilities as native-born citizens. Where do the newly naturalized live in the United States? The geographic distribution of persons naturalizing is concentrated in just six states, including California, New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey. Since 1980, the proportion of the total newly naturalized living in these six states has increased. In general, the residency pattern of persons naturalizing mirrors that of new LPRs but lags in time due to the five year residency requirement for naturalization for most LPRs. Additionally, the residence of new LPRs and new citizens will differ to some degree because the propensity to naturalize and the geographic distribution of LPRs vary by country of origin 1 . This Office of Immigration Statistics Working Paper presents a visual analysis of the state of residence of newly naturalized citizens for the period 1980 to 2003. METHODS Data for this report were obtained from applications for naturalization (N-400), which are maintained in admin- istrative case tracking systems of the Department of Homeland Security. Information on the state of resi- dence comes from the mailing address provided by the applicants. Naturalization flows by state of residence were tabulated for calendar years 1980 to 1989, 1990 to 1999, and 2000 to 2003. These flows represent the total number of persons who naturalized during each time period, not the average population of naturalized citizens during each time period. The year 1980 was used as the starting point for the tabulations because 1 For more information on the trends in the geographic settlement patterns of new LPRs, see J. Simanski (2005), Mapping Trends in U.S. Legal Immigration: 1980 to 2003. The report is available on the OIS web site at http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/publications /TrendsRpt1980-2004.pdf. this was the beginning of the first full decade in which automated records for naturalizations were available. The analysis is based on the naturalization flow to the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The percent of the total naturalization flow for each state and the Dis- trict of Columbia was calculated for each time period. Map categories showing the naturalized percentage flow for each state were initially selected using the Natural Breaks method, also known as Jenks opti- mization. This procedure creates classes where the differences between categories are maximized while minimizing differences within classes. The maps were then compared, and a standard set of proportional categories was selected to facilitate comparisons. RESULTS State Flows: 1980 to 2003 Between 1980 and 1989, more than 2 million persons naturalized (see Table 1). Five states were home to almost 64 percent of the total naturalized flow (see Table 2). The state with the highest percentage of natu- ralized citizens was California (28 percent), followed by New York (17 percent), Florida (6.3 percent), New Jersey (6.1 percent), and Texas (6.0 percent). States ranked sixth through tenth in the number of persons naturalizing received 14 percent of the total flow and included Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, and Maryland. When combined, these ten states repre- sented almost 78 percent of newly naturalized citizens. An additional 8 percent of the total flow was repre- sented by states ranked 11 th through 15 th and included Michigan, Virginia, Washington, Ohio, and Connecticut. When combined, these 15 states accounted for 86 per- cent of the naturalization flow from 1980 to 1989. The map in Figure 1 shows the proportion of the flow of newly naturalized citizens for each state as a percent of the total flow from 1980 to 1989. Between 1990 and 1999, 4.7 million persons natural- ized (see Table 1). This was more than double the number of LPRs who naturalized during the 1980s. The increase in naturalizations during the 1990s was due to several factors. A mandatory permanent resident card Office of Immigration Statistics Policy Directorate
Transcript of Mapping Trends in Naturalizations: 1980 to 2003 · MI IN NC PA NY MS TN KY VA OH SC ME WV VT NH MD...
Mapping Trends in Naturalizations: 1980 to 2003 John Simanski March 2006 Every year hundreds of thousands of legal permanent residents (LPRs) become naturalized citizens. To obtain citizenship, LPRs must fulfill certain age, residence, and admissions requirements. Once natu-ralized, they have nearly all of the same privileges, rights, and responsibilities as native-born citizens.
Where do the newly naturalized live in the United States? The geographic distribution of persons naturalizing is concentrated in just six states, including California, New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey. Since 1980, the proportion of the total newly naturalized living in these six states has increased. In general, the residency pattern of persons naturalizing mirrors that of new LPRs but lags in time due to the five year residency requirement for naturalization for most LPRs. Additionally, the residence of new LPRs and new citizens will differ to some degree because the propensity to naturalize and the geographic distribution of LPRs vary by country of origin1. This Office of Immigration Statistics Working Paper presents a visual analysis of the state of residence of newly naturalized citizens for the period 1980 to 2003.
METHODS
Data for this report were obtained from applications for naturalization (N-400), which are maintained in admin-istrative case tracking systems of the Department of Homeland Security. Information on the state of resi-dence comes from the mailing address provided by the applicants.
Naturalization flows by state of residence were tabulated for calendar years 1980 to 1989, 1990 to 1999, and 2000 to 2003. These flows represent the total number of persons who naturalized during each time period, not the average population of naturalized citizens during each time period. The year 1980 was used as the starting point for the tabulations because 1 For more information on the trends in the geographic settlement patterns of new LPRs, see J. Simanski (2005), Mapping Trends in U.S. Legal Immigration: 1980 to 2003. The report is available on the OIS web site at http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/publications /TrendsRpt1980-2004.pdf.
this was the beginning of the first full decade in which automated records for naturalizations were available. The analysis is based on the naturalization flow to the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The percent of the total naturalization flow for each state and the Dis-trict of Columbia was calculated for each time period.
Map categories showing the naturalized percentage flow for each state were initially selected using the Natural Breaks method, also known as Jenks opti-mization. This procedure creates classes where the differences between categories are maximized while minimizing differences within classes. The maps were then compared, and a standard set of proportional categories was selected to facilitate comparisons.
RESULTS
State Flows: 1980 to 2003
Between 1980 and 1989, more than 2 million persons naturalized (see Table 1). Five states were home to almost 64 percent of the total naturalized flow (see Table 2). The state with the highest percentage of natu-ralized citizens was California (28 percent), followed by New York (17 percent), Florida (6.3 percent), New Jersey (6.1 percent), and Texas (6.0 percent). States ranked sixth through tenth in the number of persons naturalizing received 14 percent of the total flow and included Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, and Maryland. When combined, these ten states repre-sented almost 78 percent of newly naturalized citizens. An additional 8 percent of the total flow was repre-sented by states ranked 11th through 15th and included Michigan, Virginia, Washington, Ohio, and Connecticut. When combined, these 15 states accounted for 86 per-cent of the naturalization flow from 1980 to 1989. The map in Figure 1 shows the proportion of the flow of newly naturalized citizens for each state as a percent of the total flow from 1980 to 1989.
Between 1990 and 1999, 4.7 million persons natural-ized (see Table 1). This was more than double the number of LPRs who naturalized during the 1980s. The increase in naturalizations during the 1990s was due to several factors. A mandatory permanent resident card
Office ofImmigration Statistics
Policy Directorate
Table 1. Naturalizatio Flow by State of Residence: 1980 to 1989, 1990 to 1999, and n2000 to 2003 (Ranked by 1980 to 1989 data)
1980 to 1989 1990 to 1999 2000 to 2003 State of Residence Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Total ...................... 2,099,484 100.0 4,658,490 100.0 2,311,711 100.0California .................... 592,859 28.2 1,610,933 34.6 741,939 31.8New York.................... 358,863 17.1 747,162 16.0 387,116 16.6Florida ........................ 132,002 6.3 411,465 8.8 197,383 8.5New Jersey ................ 128,737 6.1 227,704 4.9 106,283 4.6Texas ......................... 126,905 6.0 332,534 7.1 162,934 7.0Illinois ......................... 102,289 4.9 227,749 4.9 122,740 5.3Massachusetts ........... 57,427 2.7 110,690 2.4 67,944 2.9Pennsylvania.............. 48,104 2.3 79,867 1.7 40,318 1.7Hawaii ........................ 45,721 2.2 46,820 1.0 11,126 0.5Maryland .................... 41,731 2.0 67,349 1.4 39,189 1.7Michigan..................... 40,584 1.9 68,820 1.5 36,391 1.6Virginia ....................... 36,904 1.8 82,194 1.8 40,668 1.7Washington ................ 36,610 1.7 86,862 1.9 44,468 1.9Ohio............................ 32,398 1.5 40,716 0.9 18,483 0.8Connecticut ................ 30,110 1.4 63,513 1.4 22,201 1.0Arizona ....................... 22,714 1.1 42,372 0.9 31,281 1.3Colorado..................... 19,213 0.9 35,848 0.8 20,798 0.9Minnesota................... 18,420 0.9 24,925 0.5 22,429 1.0Georgia ...................... 18,353 0.9 53,789 1.2 37,878 1.6Louisiana.................... 15,654 0.7 22,010 0.5 5,953 0.3Oregon ....................... 14,654 0.7 21,149 0.5 17,177 0.7North Carolina ............ 13,739 0.7 21,721 0.5 25,100 1.1Missouri ...................... 13,014 0.6 14,582 0.3 11,575 0.5Wisconsin................... 11,832 0.6 10,631 0.2 13,481 0.6Nevada....................... 11,109 0.5 25,540 0.5 12,925 0.6Indiana ....................... 11,085 0.5 15,339 0.3 10,569 0.5Oklahoma................... 10,815 0.5 12,251 0.3 5,882 0.3Kansas ....................... 10,794 0.5 13,290 0.3 7,803 0.3Rhode Island .............. 10,705 0.5 17,528 0.4 4,709 0.2Utah............................ 8,274 0.4 11,951 0.3 6,675 0.3Tennessee ................. 7,556 0.4 11,306 0.2 7,901 0.3South Carolina ........... 6,983 0.3 9,473 0.2 4,234 0.2New Mexico................ 6,473 0.3 5,904 0.1 3,229 0.1Iowa............................ 5,846 0.3 4,146 0.1 4,576 0.2Alabama ..................... 5,754 0.3 8,099 0.2 4,208 0.2Alaska ........................ 5,505 0.3 5,892 0.1 3,082 0.1Kentucky .................... 5,038 0.2 5,606 0.1 4,794 0.2District of Columbia .... 4,672 0.2 11,068 0.2 4,027 0.2Nebraska.................... 3,903 0.2 14,014 0.3 5,136 0.2Arkansas .................... 3,663 0.2 3,700 0.1 1,786 0.1New Hampshire.......... 3,023 0.1 5,456 0.1 2,960 0.1Mississippi.................. 2,804 0.1 3,919 0.1 1,704 0.1Maine ......................... 2,710 0.1 3,962 0.1 1,719 0.1Delaware .................... 2,705 0.1 5,462 0.1 3,136 0.1Idaho .......................... 2,497 0.1 4,237 0.1 912 - West Virginia .............. 2,326 0.1 2,017 - 980 - North Dakota .............. 1,671 0.1 1,304 - 774 - Vermont...................... 1,484 0.1 2,508 0.1 1,524 0.1Montana ..................... 1,209 0.1 1,172 - 248 - Wyoming .................... 1,050 0.1 1,024 - 531 - South Dakota ............. 993 - 917 - 832 - Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, administrative data (N-400 Naturalization Application)
(“green card”) replacement program led some LPRs to naturalize rather than re-main in LPR status. Additionally, beginning in 1994, the first of the 2.7 million immi-grants legalized under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 became eligible to naturalize. Legislative efforts during the mid-1990s restricting public benefits for non-citizens also led LPRs to naturalize.
Seventy-one percent of the 4.7 million newly naturalized citizens were concen-trated in just five states (see Table 2). These five states were California (35 percent), New York (16 percent), Florida (8.8 percent), Texas (7.1 percent), and Illinois (4.9 percent). States ranked sixth through tenth received almost 13 percent of the total flow. These states included New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. When combined, these ten states repre-sented 84 percent of the total flow. States ranked 11th through 15th accounted for 6 percent of newly naturalized citizens. These states included Michigan, Maryland, Connecticut, Georgia, and Hawaii. These 15 states accounted for 90 percent of the total flow between 1990 and 1999. The map in Figure 2 shows the proportion of the newly naturalized citizen flow for each state as a percent of the total flow from 1990 to 1999.
Of the 2.3 million persons who naturalized between 2000 and 2003, 69 percent resided in just five states (see Table 2). California was the leading state of residence, receiving almost 32 percent of the total flow. New York (17 percent), Florida (8.5 percent), Texas (7.0 percent), and Illinois (5.3 percent) were the next highest ranked states. States ranked sixth through tenth received almost 13 percent of newly naturalized citizens and included New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. When combined, these ten states accounted for almost 82 percent of the total flow. States ranked 11th through 15th were home to 7.3 percent of the total flow and included Maryland, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, and North Carolina. The top 15 states accounted for 89 percent of all newly
2 DHS Office of Immigration Statistics
Table 2. Naturalization Flow by Rank: 1980 to 1989, 1990 to 1999, and 2000 to 2003
1980 to 1989 1990 to 1999 2000 to 2003
State ranking States
Number ofnaturalizations
Percent of total
naturalizations States Number of
naturalizations
Percent of total
naturalizations States Number of
naturalizations
Percent of total
naturalizations1 to 5 ......... CA, NY, FL,
NJ, TX 1,339,366 63.8 CA, NY, FL,
TX, IL 3,329,843 71.5 CA, NY, FL,
TX, IL 1,612,112 69.1
6 to 10 ....... IL, MA, PA, HI, MD
295,272 14.1 NJ, MA, WA, VA, PA
587,317 12.6 NJ, MA, WA, VA, PA
299,681 12.9
11 to 15 ..... MI, VA, WA, OH, CT
176,606 8.4 MI, MD, CT, GA, HI
300,291 6.4 MD, GA, MI, AZ, NC
169,839 7.3
16 to 20 ..... AZ, CO, MN, GA, LA
94,354 4.5 AZ, OH, CO, NV, MN
169,401 3.6 MN, CT, CO, OH, OR
101,088 4.3
21 to 51 ..... All other states
193,886 9.2 All other states
271,638 5.8 All other states
148,991 6.4
Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, administrative data (N-400 Naturalization Application)
naturalized citizens. The map in Figure 3 shows the proportion of the flow of newly naturalized citizens for each state as a percent of the total flow from 2000 to 2003.
NEXT STEPS
Future analysis will examine trends in im-migrant flows by metropolitan area as well as update the trends of naturalization flows.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit the Office of Immigration Statistics Web page at http://www.dhs.gov/immigra-tionstatistics or http://uscis.gov/graphics/ shared/statistics.
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics 3
DEDC
TX
CA
MT
AZ
ID
NV
NM
COIL
OR
UTKS
WY
IANE
SDMN
ND
OK
FL
WI
MO
AL
WA
GA
AR
LA
MI
IN
NC
PA
NY
MS
TN
KYVA
OH
SC
ME
WV
VTNH
MD
NJ
MA
CTRI
Office ofImmigration Statistics
Figure 1. Persons Naturalizing by State of Residence: 1980 to 1989
AK
HI
Hawaii is located2,400 miles southwest
of mainland U.S.
Alaska is located 750 milesnorthwest of mainland U.S.
and borders Canada.
0 100 miles
0100 miles
0 100 milesDHS Office of Immigration Statistics4
Projection: Albers Equal Area Conic
LEGENDNaturalization flow
as a percent of total flow
Source: U.S. Departmentof Homeland Security,
administrative data(N-400 Naturalization
Application)
1.00 to 2.993.00 to 9.9910.00 to 19.99
0.05 to 0.99
20.00 to 28.24
DEDC
TX
CA
MT
AZ
ID
NV
NM
COIL
OR
UTKS
WY
IANE
SDMN
ND
OK
FL
WI
MO
AL
WA
GA
AR
LA
MI
IN
NC
PA
NY
MS
TN
KYVA
OH
SC
ME
WV
VTNH
MD
NJ
MA
CTRI
Office ofImmigration Statistics
Figure 2. Persons Naturalizing by State of Residence: 1990 to 1999
AK
HI
Hawaii is located2,400 miles southwest
of mainland U.S.
Alaska is located 750 milesnorthwest of mainland U.S.
and borders Canada.
0 100 miles
0100 miles
0 100 miles
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics5
Projection: Albers Equal Area Conic
LEGENDNaturalization flow
as a percent of total flow
Source: U.S. Departmentof Homeland Security,
administrative data(N-400 Naturalization
Application)
1.00 to 2.993.00 to 9.9910.00 to 19.99
0.02 to 0.99
20.00 to 34.58
DEDC
TX
CA
MT
AZ
ID
NV
NM
COIL
OR
UTKS
WY
IANE
SDMN
ND
OK
FL
WI
MO
AL
WA
GA
AR
LA
MI
IN
NC
PA
NY
MS
TN
KYVA
OH
SC
ME
WV
VTNH
MD
NJ
MA
CTRI
Office ofImmigration Statistics
Figure 3. Persons Naturalizing by State of Residence: 2000 to 2003
AK
HI
Hawaii is located2,400 miles southwest
of mainland U.S.
Alaska is located 750 milesnorthwest of mainland U.S.
and borders Canada.
0 100 miles
0100 miles
0 100 milesDHS Office of Immigration Statistics6
Projection: Albers Equal Area Conic
LEGENDNaturalization flow
as a percent of total flow
Source: U.S. Departmentof Homeland Security,
administrative data(N-400 Naturalization
Application)
1.00 to 2.993.00 to 9.9910.00 to 19.99
0.01 to 0.99
20.00 to 31.82
